sniper posts pic of child in crosshairs

Sniper Posts Pic of Child in Crosshairs

JERUSALEM - A photo posted online by an Israeli soldier showing a child in the crosshairs of a rifle scope has created a firestorm on the internet,
drawing widespread criticism.

The photo was reportedly posted on Jan. 25 by Mor Ostrovski, 20, a member of an Israeli sniper unit. It shows crosshairs zeroed in on the back of the
head of what appears to be a Palestinian boy in a village. The photo has since been taken down and Ostrovski's account has been deactivated.

"There are no other images to suggest that the photographer actually fired at the person in the image in this case," w

This is pretty indicative of the mindset of the Israeli soldiers out their "defending" their ever expanding borders. It's past time my tax money stops
paying for this kind of thing.

I have no problem with Jews. Very few people actually have a problem with Jews, yet the ADL will have you think 1 in 10 (or was it 1 in 5 ot 4) have
strong anti-Semitic feelings. It's not true. When distaste for America grew around the world in the early 2000's we weren't calling them racist
towards Europeans. Yet the ADL and others associate all criticism of the Israeli government and military as racism.

If they (Israelis) don't want to have a bad image it's time to stop blaming history and start blaming their government and current events.

Sure they are trying to calm the waters, but where there is smoke there is fire. They reported they don't know if the kid was later shot.. well that's
something I would have found out and included in the report, wouldn't you have? People will say he was just looking around.. not taking pictures, not
zeroed in on a kids head. That kid was sitting doing nothing wrong with death a trigger pull away. Most of all this shows the disdain Israelis have
for the Palestinians. It's not just a land thing, they want them dead (not dissimilar to what Hitler felt about them).

It's sad that I have to even make this disclaimer, but I do because of the corruption the ADL and the dis-info spread about Israel. I am not in the
least anti Semitic, I had a Jewish girlfriend, I have Jewish friends. This isn't about a people. It's about their government oppressing another people
and their soldiers "just following orders" but also taking liberties of their own delight.

I say punish and admonish this one soldier for their poor choice of experession. That is about as much knowledge as I have of this and I cannot in
good faith clump in the rest of the IDF to say this is systemic.

Apparently there was no disciplinary action for this soldier. A similar incident where an IDF member abused prisoners and posted pictures of it
happened recently and he was given 14 days.

Eytan Buchman, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, told ABC News that Ostrovski told his commander on Saturday that he had not taken the
photo himself but that he'd taken it off the internet. No disciplinary action will be taken. "The picture in question does not coincide with IDF's
values or code of ethics," the spokesman added in an e-mailed statement. The uproar over the photo follows another posted by an Israeli infantryman
on Facebook around a week ago. In it, he mocked the four Palestinian prisoners he was guarding by posing bound and blindfolded next to them. He was
sentenced to 14 days detention after the brigade's commanders discovered the photo and ordered it taken down.

Do a little research on it you will find it is systemic. (no condescension there - i know "do a little research" is a ATS preferred quip).

This isn't really surprising. If you are taught from birth you are the "chosen people" what do you expect?. This entails believing that a magical sky
fairy tells you that the you, a "chosen person" own that land and should act supremacist towards everyone else.

As an image, ignoring for a moment the implications of its aquisition, I find this to be striking, stark, and appealing in its simplicity and
composition.

However, looking past the pure visual impact of the image (which is considerable) the fact of the matter is, that in order to gain that image, the
person who captured it had to rest a rifle in a position which saw it lined up with the back of the head of a small child. Even if said child was a
rampant purse thief, cat molestor, arch cretin and street thug in training, this would be a totaly unacceptable situation.

Unless the sniper had an idea that this child was in fact in the middle of masterminding a rocket attack, the sniper should have just passed on. Even
if the photographer was merely struck by the perfection of the effect that the image would have had as a photograph, rather than taking the picture
for giggles, he should have thought again and decided against it.

That said, I think it is worth noting that now this image does exist, and it is not without depth, not without emotional impact. It is a scene of
innocence, veiwed through a lens of war. This is art so pure and raw that I have found myself deeply moved by it, and not negatively either. In a way,
the image is beautiful, not because the child is in the crosshairs, implying his doom, but because the child remains intact, defying the sniper by
sheer presence.

Of course we know that the kids head wouldnt survive contact with a round launched at it. But that is how the image itself impacted me.

There is definitely a reason for the omission. It's not info that would normally be left out. It's pertinent, could it be a US soldier? Some other
stage? Nope it's Israel and no one wants bad press for Israel, God forbid the American people start to have an opinion on where their money goes.

This post is about a Child. How did society sink this low? A photograph like this should be a signal to everyone who looks at it - that this world is
no longer safe for a Child to sit and ponder their life.

What a sad sad soulless reflection of humanity. This photograph is much deeper that nationality or religion - this is an innocent Child!!!!

gee...islamists wouldn't post this to, perhaps, lie about it being an israeli soldier??? no, because they would never lie.....c'mon, here on ATS we
are suppose to us some critical thinking skills, right?....remember the fake dead bodies of muslims after the supposed israeli air strikes, where the
"dead" suddenly came back to life when the camera was turned off?...UFO pictures get more scrutiny than this

Oh it's very much about a country. A child too, but just as much the country. Why did he think people he knew in Israel and on social networks would
enjoy this kind of photo? I mean in the US in the US a soldier would know posting a picture of him aiming a gun at a child would not go over well on
his facebook. The fact that this guy considered it might says a lot about the people.

That kid was possibly in danger while they fan angled the camera for the shot. Most important the the guy recieved NO disciplinary action. He didn't
even don't do it again.. he got a "don't post it online next time."

Eh.. wrong. The Isreali government has admitted to it, and the guy posted other pictures of himself in uniform. The Israeli government said he wasn't
punished for it. They also said something similar had happened before where an IDF soldier abused several prisoners.

So do a little research before coming in here without knowing what you are talking about. You didn't even take the time to read the article before you
started spouting your support Israel in all they do rhetoric. It's very ironic that you attacked other posters critical thinking skills while
simultaneously making yourself look like a buffoon.

You can call it art, because I can see where you are coming from on the composition (though it's really not a great photograph by any means), but you
have to see the negative side. You are wrong about what it says about war. The message is that innocent children are targets in Israel and that it is
widely enough accepted that the fellow not only thought to take it, but thought that enough people would agree and enjoy it that he shared it
socially. It does show only the negative side.

As far as photography composition goes. The same effect could be gained with a scope alone. There were other pictures posted with it with the soldier
in full gear with his weapons.

What can you even say to something like this, i am at a loss,
finding it very hard to not be just rude, the US government throws
a fit about protecting children from guns and we give this
country huge amounts of weapons and money...... yea protect
the children

Eh.. wrong. The Isreali government has admitted to it, and the guy posted other pictures of himself in uniform. The Israeli government said he wasn't
punished for it. They also said something similar had happened before where an IDF soldier abused several prisoners.

So do a little research before coming in here without knowing what you are talking about. You didn't even take the time to read the article before
you started spouting your support Israel in all they do rhetoric. It's very ironic that you attacked other posters critical thinking skills while
simultaneously making yourself look like a buffoon.

edit on 19-2-2013 by GogoVicMorrow because: (no reason given)

i read the article, it didn't say that the scope image was his gun and scope....plus it was an image...maybe, just maybe, he's had rocks thrown at
him by a number of these kids for no reason, and it was an stupid mistake brougnt on by frustration...you know..like all the muslim videos showing IDE
explosions under western vehicles that killed people, and then having all the muslims cheering in the backround and praising their "god"...i guess
that has entertainment value.

All I am saying is, that the image has a value above and beyond the conclusions that we might automatically jump to. For instance, if the image was
posted on the soldiers facebook with a caption which reads along the lines of "the one that got away" or some awful thing, then we could say for
sure what that individual soldiers intent was.

The political climate in the region, and the history of the IDF in their dealings with and actions toward the people of Palestine are of course well
documented, but in order to judge this image, and the reason for its existence, and the motivations of the individual member of the IDF who took it,
we would have to know about that individual, and we do not. All we know is that the individual was or is in the IDF, and has been pictured in his
soldiers garb. We can only assume his intent, and frankly, we have not enough information about the individual responsible for the image, to judge his
reasons for taking that picture and posting it.

As you are no doubt aware, the IDF is made up of people who will not become career soldiers in the main, people who have futures beyond the sight of
a rifle. For all that we know, from the available information, the person that took this shot could have been studying for a journalism career, or a
photography or visual arts qualification. We know next to nothing about the solider in question, so his motivations are as enigmatic and unknowable at
this stage, as the child in the sights.

I am no fan of the way that the IDF has comported itself in its history of contact with the Palestinian people. They have as an ORGANISATION, done
nothing to improve thier image, constantly giving the world new reasons to be unfavourable to them. But just as it is not the case that every US
serviceman has mercilessly beaten innocent Iraqis and Afghans for kicks, just as it is not the case that every UK serviceman has tortured and
humiliated prisoners in those theatres, I do not believe that every member of the IDF is a soul dead, murderous savage. I know thier commanders are,
that is plain from the things we have witnessed in that region over the years, but I cannot condemn the soldier who took this shot,or the image
itself, as part of that savagery without far more evidence than we currently have.

I do understand fully however, how one might be lead to assume certain things, given the external factors to this issue.

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